Chloramines in low concentrations arise from the disinfection of drinking water sources. To improve the taste and odor of the water and to remove the inherently toxic chloramines, the water is typically contacted with activated carbon. The ability of carbonaceous materials, such as activated carbon, to remove chloramines from aqueous streams is generally well known. It is also known that improvements in monochloramine removal can be achieved by reducing the mean particle diameter of the carbon and increasing the empty bed contact time. In some applications, such as in kidney dialysis units, high rates of monochloramine removal are particularly important. Although parameters such as contact time and mean particle diameter are known to affect chloramine removal efficiencies, removal performance is not well understood nor particularly effective.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a method of enhanced chloramine removal. It is a further object of the invention to provide a carbonaceous char which is intrinsically catalytically active for chloramine removal apart from factors such as contact time, mean particle diameter, and the like which are known to affect chloramine removal.